CN109563863B

CN109563863B - Method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade

Info

Publication number: CN109563863B
Application number: CN201780038823.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: F.基尔瑟伦森; M.奥尔森
Original assignee: LM Wind Power International Technology II APS
Current assignee: LM Wind Power AS
Priority date: 2016-06-22
Filing date: 2017-06-22
Publication date: 2021-06-08
Anticipated expiration: 2037-06-22
Also published as: WO2017220740A1; MA45441A; BR112018076462A2; EP3475586A1; CN109563863A; US20190176411A1; US11072131B2; CA3027622A1; BR112018076462B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade. The method comprises adhesively joining suction side (69) and pressure side (68) shell halves along respective bond lines (80) at leading and trailing edges of the suction side (69) and pressure side shell halves (68), wherein, prior to joining, an impregnated carrier substrate (76) is arranged between the shell halves along at least part of said bond lines (80). The carrier substrate (76) is impregnated with at least one compound having a functional moiety. The housing half-part may be manufactured by placing a fibre lay-up comprising one or more fibre layers on a mould surface (66), arranging an impregnated carrier substrate (76) on the inner surface (72) at least along a peripheral edge (74) of the inner surface (72), and injecting or infusing resin into the fibre lay-up and impregnated carrier substrate and subsequently curing them.

Description

Method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade. In other aspects, the invention relates to a wind turbine blade obtainable by said method, to an impregnated carrier substrate for use in said method, and to the use of an impregnated carrier substrate in the manufacture of a wind turbine blade.

Background

Wind energy is becoming increasingly popular due to its clean, environmentally friendly energy production. Rotor blades of modern wind turbines maximize efficiency by capturing kinetic wind energy using complex blade designs. Today turbine blades may be over 80 meters in length and over 4 meters in width. Typically, the blade is made of a fiber reinforced polymer material and includes a pressure side shell half and a suction side shell half. The cross-sectional profile of a typical blade includes an airfoil for generating an airflow that causes a pressure differential between the two sides. The generated lift force generates torque for power generation.

The shell halves of wind turbine blades are typically manufactured using a mould. First, a blade gel coat or primer (primer) is typically applied to the mold. Subsequently, the fibrous reinforcement and/or fabric is placed in a mould and then the resin is injected. A vacuum is typically used to draw the epoxy material into the mold. Alternatively, a pre-impregnation technique may be used, wherein fibres or fabrics pre-impregnated with resin form a homogeneous material that can be introduced into the mould. Several other molding techniques are known for manufacturing wind turbine blades, including compression molding and resin transfer molding. The shell halves are assembled by joining them together along the chord plane of the blade at a joint line along the trailing and leading edges of the blade. The bond line is typically formed by applying a suitable bonding paste or adhesive along the bond line at the minimum designed bond width between the housing members.

A typical molding process includes bagging, resin injection and subsequent curing. Bagging involves placing a vacuum foil on the fibrous material or layer of fibrous material that has been laid on the surface of the mould. The vacuum foil is used to press the portion onto the tool and allow a vacuum to be drawn into the void formed by the bag and tool so that the fibers of the portion are infused with the resin. A typical vacuum foil may be formed from one or more sheets of plastic placed over the blades. The injection includes feeding resin under vacuum to wet the laid fibers to form the solid shell half. In subsequent curing, heat and subsequent cooling may be applied to harden the resin.

Once the housing half-parts have cured sufficiently, the vacuum bag is removed and further operations may be performed on the hardened housing half-parts. Typically, the housing surfaces, particularly the peripheral edges, are ground in preparation for the subsequent bonding step. Next, glue or bonding paste is applied to the edges of the housing halves while in the mold. The blade moulds are connected by a hinged turning mechanism and the first blade mould comprising the first shell half-part is turned relative to the second mould such that the first shell half-part is located above the second shell half-part. This allows the shell halves to be brought together along the ground edges of the parts to form the complete wind turbine blade. To allow the shells to be firmly bonded together, a suitable pressure is maintained along the outer surfaces of the shell halves by the blade mould.

Although constituting a potential health risk due to the generation of dust and noise, in the known method the above-mentioned grinding step is mandatory in order to prepare the edge surface for adequate bonding. Another disadvantage of this procedure is that it is time consuming and cumbersome.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome one or more of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the known methods.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of manufacturing a blade, as a result of which the operational safety and/or the process efficiency is improved.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of manufacturing a blade, as a result of which the bonding strength is improved.

Disclosure of Invention

In a first aspect, the invention relates to a method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade, the blade having a profiled contour, the profiled contour comprising a pressure side and a suction side and a leading edge and a trailing edge with a chord having a chord length extending there between, the wind turbine blade extending in a spanwise direction between a root end and a tip end, wherein the method comprises adhesively joining suction side and pressure side shell halves along respective bond lines at the leading edge and the trailing edge, wherein, prior to joining, an impregnated carrier substrate is arranged between the housing halves along at least part of the bonding line, wherein the carrier substrate is impregnated with at least one compound having a functional moiety, characterized in that the suction side shell half part and/or the pressure side shell half part are manufactured by a process comprising the steps of:

a) placing a stack of fibers, e.g., comprising glass fibers, comprising one or more fiber layers on a mold surface to form a shell half structure comprising an aerodynamic outer surface and an opposing inner surface having a peripheral edge,

b) disposing an impregnated carrier substrate on the inner surface at least along a portion of a peripheral edge of the inner surface;

c) injecting or infusing a resin into the fiber lay-up and the impregnated carrier substrate and subsequently curing them.

The present inventors have found that impregnating the carrier substrate, in particular its functional groups such as hydroxyl groups, will interact with the adhesive or bonding paste to form a bond line with improved bond strength and structural stability. The impregnated carrier substrate becomes an integral part of the finished blade and contributes to its stability. At the same time, the manufacturing process is simplified, since the previous labor-intensive and dangerous surface grinding operation becomes unnecessary.

The carrier substrate may be a fabric comprising a natural or synthetic textile material. It may take the form of a platelet or strip impregnated with at least one compound having a functional moiety, e.g., a polyol compound. Different materials can be used as carrier substrate, such as, for example, pieces or strips of sewn, knitted, woven or matted lightweight fabrics, natural or synthetic fibers, such as, for example, polyamide fibers, polyester fibers, cotton fibers, glass fibers or carbon fibers. The compound having a functional moiety, e.g., a polyol compound, can be applied to the carrier substrate using a suitable solvent. Alternatively, the support substrate may be impregnated with a pure compound or a mixture of pure compounds having functional moieties.

Preferably, the impregnated carrier substrate is arranged between the housing halves along at least 80% of the length of said bond line, more preferably along at least 90% of the length of said bond line, most preferably along the entire length of said bond line. The impregnated carrier substrate is advantageously arranged between the housing halves at any given location along at least 50%, such as at least 70% or at least 80% of the bond line width. In a preferred embodiment, the carrier substrate has a length of at least 20 m, such as at least 30 m or at least 40 m. Advantageously, it has a width of between 0.5 and 50 cm, such as at least 1 cm, more preferably at least 2 cm, most preferably at least 3 cm. The thickness of the carrier substrate may be at least 1 mm, such as at least 2 mm or at least 5 mm.

In other embodiments, the method comprises disposing at least two impregnated carrier substrates between the shell halves along at least part of the bond line, preferably at least one impregnated carrier substrate along at least part of the leading edge bond line and at least one impregnated carrier substrate along at least part of the trailing edge bond line.

It is preferred that the suction side and pressure side housing halves are produced by vacuum assisted resin transfer molding and that the impregnated carrier substrate is disposed on one or both of the housing halves prior to resin injection or injection in the molding operation. Thus, preferably, the resin used in the molding operation is also injected or infused into the impregnated carrier substrate.

Typically, the blade structure is further reinforced with some support members, such as shear webs or box girders, which are arranged within the blade and to which the two shell halves may be joined. Typically, the shear webs are placed on spar caps or primary laminate structures forming part of the inner surface of the shell halves. When such a support member is present, it is preferred that an impregnated carrier substrate is also arranged between such a support member and the inner surface of the shell half parts, e.g. on the primary laminate structure or on the flange of the shear web, before adhesively joining the shell half parts.

The functional moiety may be selected from the group consisting of carbonyl groups such as aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, anhydrides, esters, amides or acid halides, hydrocarbons such as alkanes, alkenes or alkynes, aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene derivatives, oxygen containing groups such as hydroxyl groups, in particular alcohol groups and polyols, carbonates, ethers, epoxies, peroxides, halogen containing groups such as alkyl halides, nitrogen containing groups such as amino groups, amines such as primary or secondary amines, amides, imines, nitriles, isocyanates, azo compounds and sulphur containing groups such as thiols. Preferably, the functional moiety is selected from the group consisting of amino functional moieties, amide functional moieties, hydroxyl functional moieties, sulfide functional moieties, epoxy functional moieties, silanol functional moieties, carbonyl functional moieties, carboxyl functional moieties, thiocarbonyl functional moieties, ammonium functional moieties, nitrile functional moieties, imine functional moieties, and combinations thereof. More preferably, the functional moiety is selected from the group consisting of a hydroxyl functional moiety, an amino functional moiety, a carbonyl functional moiety, an isocyanate functional moiety, and combinations thereof. Thus, the compound having a functional moiety is preferably a carbonyl compound, an alcohol, in particular a polyol, an amine or an isocyanate. It is particularly preferred that the functional moiety is a hydroxyl functional moiety. It has been found that, in particular hydroxyl groups, interact with the adhesive or bonding paste to form a reinforced bond line without the need to grind the blade surface prior to bonding.

In a preferred embodiment, the carrier substrate is impregnated with at least one polyol compound. The polyol compound may be a polyether polyol or a polyester polyol.

According to another embodiment, the suction side shell half part and/or the pressure side shell half part are manufactured by a process comprising the steps of:

a) placing a fiber lay-up comprising one or more fiber layers on a mold surface to form a shell half structure comprising an aerodynamic outer surface and an opposing inner surface having a peripheral edge,

In some embodiments, the housing half piece structure may include a bonding flange for providing increased surface area for bonding to another housing half piece. Typically, the casing half structure will include a bonding flange on its leading edge side. In other embodiments, there is a bonding flange on each of the leading edge side and the trailing edge side. In one embodiment, the joining flange extends along the entire length of the leading edge side and/or the trailing edge side of the casing half structure. Advantageously, the joining flange overlaps an inner surface of the respective other housing half-part when the housing half-parts are assembled. An impregnated carrier substrate may be applied to at least a portion of the surface of such a bonding flange. Advantageously, the impregnated carrier substrate is impregnated prior to being disposed on the inner surface of the housing half structure.

A resin, such as polyester, is injected or infused into the fibrous material and the impregnated carrier substrate, which wets both the fibrous material and the impregnated carrier substrate. Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the resin and the functional compound, e.g., polyol compound, that impregnates the support substrate will interact to form active surface groups, e.g., hydroxyl groups. Thus, an improved bonding surface is created with an elevated concentration of reactive functional groups (preferably hydroxyl groups) that can react with a suitable adhesive during subsequent bonding. Thus, the impregnated carrier substrate becomes an integral part of the finished blade. This is believed to result in a strong bond (cross-linking) between the laminate structure and the structural adhesive.

The resin used for injection or injection in step c) may be an epoxy resin, a polyester resin or a vinyl ester resin. The shell half structure may also comprise an intermediate core material of the shell sandwich structure, preferably comprising wood and/or polymer foam, most preferably balsa wood.

According to another embodiment, the blade further comprises one or more shear webs arranged within the blade, each shear web being adhesively joined to the suction side shell half part and the pressure side shell half part at respective upper and lower adhesive joints, wherein an impregnated carrier substrate is arranged at the upper and/or lower adhesive joints prior to joining the shear webs to the shell half parts.

The shear webs, if present, function to reinforce the blade structure and prevent excessive bending or buckling. They are generally bonded to a reinforcing member, such as a spar cap, primary laminate structure, or sandwich structure, of the inner surface of the respective shell half. They may be formed from beam members having an I-shaped or C-shaped cross-section, these members having a main body with load-bearing flanges extending from the main body at opposite ends of the main body. One method of manufacturing an I-or C-web is by providing a sandwich panel body with layers of fibre material applied at opposite ends in the shape of the desired flange, the fibre material being impregnated with resin and subsequently cured to form a rigid flange. It is known to manufacture shear webs in suitably shaped mould structures, wherein C-shaped webs may be manufactured using U-shaped moulds, wherein a sandwich panel body extends between opposite walls of the mould structure, against which flanges are formed by a stack of fibrous material.

Preferably, the shear web comprises two flanges at opposite ends thereof, wherein the flanges are connected to the spar caps, the primary laminate structure or the sandwich structure of the respective shell half-part. The connection may be provided by applying an impregnated carrier substrate to the shear web flanges or the main laminate structure of the shell half parts, and then bonding the shear web flanges to the shell half parts by using a suitable adhesive.

According to one embodiment, the suction side and pressure side housing halves are joined with an adhesive comprising at least one vinyl ester compound. According to another embodiment, the suction side and pressure side housing halves are joined with an adhesive comprising an isocyanate compound, preferably free isocyanate.

In a preferred embodiment, the resin comprises a polyester compound, preferably an unsaturated polyester compound.

According to another embodiment, the fiber stack comprises glass fibers. The fiber lay-up may also comprise carbon fibers, aramid fibers, metal fibers, such as steel fibers and/or plant fibers.

According to another embodiment, step c) comprises the application of a vacuum, preferably vacuum assisted transfer moulding. In Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Moulding (VARTM), typically a glass fibre layer is placed in a mould with the correct orientation, whereafter a vacuum pump is used to force the resin through the fibres. This is usually followed by a curing cycle at atmospheric pressure.

According to another embodiment, the method further comprises the step of applying a release cloth (peel ply) on top of the impregnated carrier substrate after step b) but before step c), wherein the release cloth is removed before adhesively joining the housing half parts. According to another embodiment, the method further comprises the step of laying a vacuum foil on top of the fibre lay-up and the impregnated carrier substrate after step b) but before step c). According to another embodiment, the method further comprises the step of applying a gelcoat or primer onto the blade mould before step a).

In another aspect, the invention relates to a wind turbine blade obtainable by the above method. The resulting blades have been found to exhibit improved bond strength and structural stability. It also differs from known blades in that it comprises an impregnated carrier substrate as an integral part of its structure.

In yet another aspect, the present invention relates to an impregnated carrier substrate for use in the above method. The support substrate may be impregnated with a compound having a functional moiety selected from the group consisting of an amino functional moiety, an amide functional moiety, a hydroxyl functional moiety, a sulfide functional moiety, an epoxy functional moiety, a silanol functional moiety, a carbonyl functional moiety, a carboxyl functional moiety, a thiocarbonyl functional moiety, an ammonium functional moiety, a nitrile functional moiety, an imine functional moiety, and combinations thereof. It is particularly preferred that the functional moiety is a hydroxyl functional moiety. In a preferred embodiment, the carrier substrate is impregnated with at least one polyol compound.

According to another embodiment, the carrier substrate has a length of at least 20 m and a width between 0.5 and 50 cm. In a preferred embodiment, the carrier substrate has a length of at least 20 m, such as at least 30 m or at least 40 m. Advantageously, it has a width of between 0.5 and 50 cm, such as at least 1 cm, more preferably at least 2 cm, most preferably at least 3 cm. The thickness of the carrier substrate may be at least 1 mm, such as at least 2 mm or at least 5 mm.

In another aspect, the invention relates to the use of an impregnated carrier substrate in the manufacture of a wind turbine blade, wherein the impregnated carrier substrate is in contact with at least one adhesive for adhesively bonding a suction side shell half to a pressure side shell half, wherein the carrier substrate is impregnated with at least one compound having a functional moiety.

Preferably, the functional moiety is selected from the group consisting of amino functional moieties, amide functional moieties, hydroxyl functional moieties, sulfide functional moieties, epoxy functional moieties, silanol functional moieties, carbonyl functional moieties, carboxyl functional moieties, thiocarbonyl functional moieties, ammonium functional moieties, nitrile functional moieties, imine functional moieties, and combinations thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the functional moiety is a hydroxyl functional moiety. Most preferably, the carrier substrate is impregnated with at least one polyol compound.

Drawings

The invention will be explained in detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings, in which

Figure 1 shows a wind turbine as shown in the figure,

figure 2 shows a schematic view of a wind turbine blade,

figure 3 shows a schematic view of the airfoil profile through section I-I of figure 4,

figure 4 shows a schematic view of a wind turbine blade from above and from the side,

figure 5 is a perspective view of the housing half construction of the present invention in a mold,

figure 6 shows an enlarged cross-section of the housing half-part arrangement of figure 5 taken along the line a-a',

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a wind turbine blade according to the invention, an

Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of the section B in fig. 7.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a conventional modern windward wind turbine according to the so-called "danish concept" with a tower 4, a nacelle 6 and a rotor with a substantially horizontal rotor shaft. The rotor comprises a hub 8 and three blades 10 extending radially from the hub 8, each blade having a blade root 16 closest to the hub and a blade tip 14 furthest from the hub 8. The rotor has a radius denoted by R.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of a first embodiment of a wind turbine blade 10 according to the invention. The wind turbine blade 10 has the shape of a conventional wind turbine blade and comprises: a root region 30 closest to the hub, a profiled or airfoil region 34 furthest away from the hub, and a transition region 32 between the root region 30 and the airfoil region 34. The blade 10 includes a leading edge 18 and a trailing edge 20, the leading edge 18 facing in the direction of rotation of the blade 10 and the trailing edge 20 facing in the opposite direction of the leading edge 18 when the blade is mounted on the hub.

The airfoil region 34 (also referred to as the profiled region) has an ideal or nearly ideal blade shape with respect to generating lift, while the root region 30 has a substantially circular or elliptical cross-section due to structural considerations, for example, making it easier and safer to mount the blade 10 to the hub. The diameter (or chord) of the root region 30 may be constant along the entire root region 30. The transition region 32 has a transition profile that gradually changes from the circular or elliptical shape of the root region 30 to the airfoil profile of the airfoil region 34. The chord length of the transition region 32 generally varies with distance from the hubrIs increased. The airfoil region 34 has an airfoil profile with a chord extending between the leading edge 18 and the trailing edge 20 of the blade 10. The width of the chord decreases with increasing distance r from the hub.

The shoulder 40 of the blade 10 is defined as the location where the blade 10 has its maximum chord length. Shoulder 40 is generally disposed at the boundary between transition region 32 and airfoil region 34.

It should be noted that chords of different sections of the blade typically do not lie in a common plane, as the blade may twist and/or bend (i.e. pre-bend), providing a chord plane with a correspondingly twisted and/or curved course, which is most often the case to compensate for the local velocity of the blade depending on the radius from the hub.

Fig. 3 and 4 depict parameters for explaining the geometry of a wind turbine blade according to the invention.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of an airfoil profile 50 of a typical blade of a wind turbine depicted with various parameters, which are generally used to define the geometry of the airfoil. The airfoil profile 50 has a pressure side 52 and a suction side 54, which are typically present during use, i.e. during rotation of the rotorFacing the windward (or upwind) side and the leeward (or downwind) side, respectively. The airfoil 50 has a chord 60, the chord 60 having a chord length extending between the leading edge 56 and the trailing edge 58 of the bladec. The airfoil 50 has a thicknesstWhich is defined as the distance between the pressure side 52 and the suction side 54. Thickness of airfoiltVarying along chord 60. The deviation from the symmetrical profile is represented by the camber line 62, which camber line 62 is the median line through the airfoil profile 50. The median line may be obtained by drawing an inscribed circle from the leading edge 56 to the trailing edge 58. The median line follows the center of these inscribed circles and the deviation or distance from the chord 60 is called the vault heightf. Asymmetry may also be defined by using parameters called an upper camber (or suction side camber) and a lower camber (or pressure side camber), where upper camber and lower camber are defined as the distance from chord 60 to suction side 54 and pressure side 52, respectively.

The airfoil profile is typically characterized by the following parameters: chord lengthcMaximum arch heightfMaximum arch heightfPosition ofd _fMaximum airfoil thicknesst(which is the maximum diameter of the inscribed circle along the median arch line 62), maximum thicknesstPosition ofd _tAnd a nose radius (not shown). These parameters are generally defined as chord lengthscThe ratio of. Thus, local relative blade thicknesst/cGiven as the local maximum thicknesstWith local chord lengthcThe ratio of (a) to (b). In addition, the position of the maximum pressure side camberd _pMay be used as a design parameter, of course, the location of the maximum suction side camber may also be used as a design parameter.

Fig. 4 shows other geometrical parameters of the blade. The blades having a total blade lengthL. As shown in fig. 3, the root end is in positionr= 0 and the tip is located atr = LTo (3). The shoulder 40 of the vane is in placer = L _wAnd has a shoulder widthWWherein the shoulder is wideWEqual to the chord length at the shoulder 40. The diameter of the root portion is defined asD. The curvature of the trailing edge of the blade in the transition region may be defined by two parameters, namely: minimum outer radius of curvaturer _oAnd minimum inner radius of curvaturer _iWhich are defined as the minimum radius of curvature of the trailing edge, as seen from the outside (or behind the trailing edge), and the minimum radius of curvature, as seen from the inside (or in front of the trailing edge), respectively. In addition, the blade is provided with a pre-bend, the pre-bend being defined asΔyWhich corresponds to an out-of-plane yaw with respect to the pitch axis 22 of the blade.

Fig. 5 shows a blade mould 64, said blade mould 64 having a mould surface 66 for moulding a shell half 68 of a wind turbine blade. The molding process includes placing a fiber stack including one or more fiber layers, such as glass fibers, on the mold surface 66. The shell half structure 68 includes an aerodynamic outer surface 70 and an opposing inner surface 72 having a peripheral edge 74. As shown only on the left hand side of fig. 5, an impregnated carrier substrate 76 in the form of a strip of fabric is placed on the inner surface along the peripheral edge 74 of the inner surface. Subsequently, resin is injected into the fiber lay-up and the impregnated carrier substrate to produce a fiber reinforced structure.

This is further illustrated in the cross-sectional view of fig. 6 taken along line a-a' in fig. 5. In contrast to fig. 5, the embodiment shown in fig. 6 has an impregnated carrier substrate 76 placed on both sides along the peripheral edge 74 of the inner surface 72 of the housing half structure 68.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a blade 10 of the present invention showing various bond lines B, C and an adhesive joint D, E, F, G to which an impregnated carrier substrate of the present invention may be applied prior to adhesive bonding. At the leading and trailing

edges

18, 20 of the blade (see circles B and C), the pressure side shell half piece 68 is adhesively joined to the suction side shell half piece 69 along respective bond lines. The impregnated carrier substrate 76 is placed between the

housing halves

68, 69, which is clearly visible in the enlarged view of fig. 8 at B. In this embodiment, the pressure side shell half 68 includes a bonding flange 78 for improved bonding with the suction side shell half 69. The impregnated carrier substrate is preferably placed on the respective

housing half parts

68, 69 including the bonding flanges 78 prior to resin injection in vacuum assisted resin transfer molding. After curing, the

housing halves

68, 69 including the impregnated carrier substrate 76 are adhesively bonded along bond lines 80 using a suitable adhesive or bonding paste.

As also shown in FIG. 7, the blade 10 includes a leading edge shear web 82 and a trailing edge shear web 84, both of which are substantially C-shaped. The two

shear webs

82, 84 are adhesively bonded to the respective

shell half parts

68, 69, preferably to the spar caps or primary laminate structures (not shown) integrated in the latter. Prior to bonding, the impregnated carrier substrate may be placed on the upper and/or lower flanges of the shear web and/or on the respective inner surfaces of the shell halves 68, 69, i.e. on the primary laminate structure.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein, but may be modified or adjusted without departing from the scope of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

2 wind turbine

4 tower frame

6 nacelle

8 hub

10 blade

14 blade tip

16 blade root

18 leading edge

20 trailing edge

22 pitch axis

30 root zone

32 transition region

34 airfoil region

40 shoulder/maximum chord line position

50 airfoil profile

52 pressure side

54 suction side

56 leading edge

58 trailing edge

60 string

62 arch/median line

64-blade die

66 mold surface

68 pressure side shell half

69 suction side shell half

70 outer surface of the housing halves

72 inner surface of housing half

74 peripheral edge of the inner surface

76 Carrier substrate

78 joining flange

80 bonding wire

82 leading edge shear web

84 trailing edge shear web

cChord length

d _tLocation of maximum thickness

d _fPosition of maximum arch height

d _pPosition of maximum pressure side camber

fArch height

LBlade length

rLocal radius, radial distance from blade root

tThickness of

ΔyPrebending

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade, the blade (10) having a profiled contour comprising a pressure side and a suction side and a leading edge (18) and a trailing edge (20) with a chord having a chord length extending there between, the wind turbine blade (10) extending in a spanwise direction between a root end (16) and a tip end (14), wherein the method comprises adhesively joining a suction side shell half part (69) and a pressure side shell half part (68) along respective bond lines (80) at the leading edge and the trailing edge, wherein, prior to joining, an impregnated carrier substrate (76) is arranged between the shell half parts along at least part of the bond lines (80), wherein the carrier substrate (76) is impregnated with at least one compound having a functional moiety, characterized in that, said suction side shell half part and/or said pressure side shell half part are manufactured by a process comprising the steps of:

a) placing a fiber lay-up comprising one or more fiber layers on a mold surface (66) to form a shell half structure comprising an aerodynamic outer surface (70) and an opposing inner surface (72) having a peripheral edge (74),

b) disposing an impregnated carrier substrate (76) on the inner surface (72) along at least a portion of a peripheral edge (74) of the inner surface;

2. A method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade according to claim 1, wherein the fibre lay-up comprises glass fibres.

3. The method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade according to claim 1, wherein the functional moiety is selected from the group consisting of a hydroxyl functional moiety, an amino functional moiety, a carbonyl functional moiety, an isocyanate functional moiety and combinations thereof.

4. A method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the functional moiety is a hydroxyl functional moiety.

5. A method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the compound having a functional moiety is a polyol compound.

6. A method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the blade further comprises one or more shear webs (82, 84) arranged within the blade, each shear web being adhesively joined to the suction side shell half part (69) and the pressure side shell half part (68) at respective upper and lower adhesive joints, wherein the impregnated carrier substrate (76) is arranged at the upper and/or lower adhesive joints before joining the shear webs to the shell half parts.

7. Method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade according to any of claims 1-3,

wherein the suction side and pressure side housing halves (69, 68) are joined with an adhesive comprising at least one vinyl ester compound.

8. A method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade according to claim 7, wherein the suction side and pressure side shell half parts (69, 68) are joined with an adhesive comprising an isocyanate compound.

9. The method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade according to claim 8, wherein the isocyanate compound is a free isocyanate.

10. A method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the resin comprises a polyester compound.

11. A method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade according to claim 10, wherein the polyester compound is an unsaturated polyester compound.

12. Method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade according to any of claims 1-3,

wherein step c) comprises the application of a vacuum.

13. A method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade according to claim 12, wherein the step of applying the vacuum is vacuum assisted transfer moulding.

14. A method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade according to claim 12, wherein the method further comprises the step of applying a release cloth on top of the impregnated carrier substrate (76) after step b) but before step c), wherein the release cloth is removed before adhesively joining the shell half parts.

15. A method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade according to claim 12, wherein the method further comprises the step of laying a vacuum foil on top of the fibre lay-up and impregnated carrier substrate after step b) but before step c).

16. A method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the method further comprises the step of applying a gel coat or primer to the blade mould before step a).

17. A wind turbine blade obtainable by the method of any preceding claim.

18. An impregnated carrier substrate for use in a method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the carrier substrate is impregnated with at least one polyol compound.

19. An impregnated carrier substrate for use in a method according to claim 18, wherein the carrier substrate has a length of at least 20 m and a width of between 0.5 and 50 cm.

20. Use of an impregnated carrier substrate in the manufacture of a wind turbine blade, wherein said impregnated carrier substrate is in contact with at least one adhesive for adhesively bonding a suction side shell half to a pressure side shell half, wherein said carrier substrate is impregnated with at least one compound having a functional moiety.

21. The use of claim 20, wherein the functional moiety is selected from the group consisting of an amino functional moiety, an amide functional moiety, a hydroxyl functional moiety, a sulfide functional moiety, an epoxy functional moiety, a silanol functional moiety, a carbonyl functional moiety, a carboxyl functional moiety, a thiocarbonyl functional moiety, an ammonium functional moiety, a nitrile functional moiety, an imine functional moiety, and combinations thereof.

22. Use according to claim 21, wherein the functional moiety is a hydroxyl functional moiety.

23. Use according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the carrier substrate is impregnated with at least one polyol compound.